Diapers for absorbing exudates from a wearer are known. It is common to provide such diapers with elastic along side edges of a diaper to cause the diaper to contract around leg openings to fit the diaper around the legs of a wearer. Typically, these diapers have absorption pads or bodies of an hour-glass or similar configuration, in which the narrower center part, intended to conform to the shape of the body, forms the crotch part of the diaper when the diaper is in use. Elastic members positioned generally rectilinearly and generally parallel with the longitudinal axis of the diaper tend to result in chafing of the skin of the wearer in the crotch region. Because of this and because the leg openings in the diaper typically are curved, it is desirable to lay the elastic members in a curved elastic profile that is generally parallel to the side edges of the diaper. Thus, at least a portion of the elastic profile typically is curved to match the curvature of the side edges along the leg openings. It would be advantageous to lay components such as elastics in a nonlinear fashion during manufacturing of an absorbent article that may easily be customized for different elastic profiles.